The Moto X, which will be available later this month on
AT&Tt -0.9705793145283591%AT&T Inc.U.S.: NYSEUSD32.65
-0.32-0.9705793145283591%
/Date(1427835662017-0500)/
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:
27354340AFTER HOURSUSD32.69
0.03999999999999920.1225114854517611%
Volume (Delayed 15m)
:
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P/E Ratio
27.436974789915965Market Cap
171119844265.342
Dividend Yield
5.758039816232772% Rev. per Employee
523506More quote details and news »tinYour ValueYour ChangeShort position
(T) and four other U.S. carriers for $200 with a two-year contract, is probably not what most on the Street were expecting from a flagship phone. But it has some very nifty surprises of its own.

Google and Motorola have eschewed the crafted-metal feel of high-end smartphones such as the
Applaapl -1.5351744876157316%Apple Inc.U.S.: NasdaqUSD124.43
-1.94-1.5351744876157316%
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40410221AFTER HOURSUSD124.489
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Volume (Delayed 15m)
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P/E Ratio
16.657295850066934Market Cap
736073426681.742
Dividend Yield
1.5108896568351684% Rev. per Employee
2153110More quote details and news »aaplinYour ValueYour ChangeShort position
e (AAPL) iPhone and the
HTC2498.TW 0.3597122302158273%HTC Corp.TaiwanTWD139.5
0.50.3597122302158273%
/Date(1427830745000-0500)/
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3717835
P/E Ratio
77.5Market Cap
116058345375
Dividend Yield
1.4336917562724014% Rev. per Employee
N/AMore quote details and news »2498.TWinYour ValueYour ChangeShort position
(2498.Taiwan) One X and instead offer an unassuming slab with a composite-material casing. But it's a slab that fits nicely in the hand, and there's a clever twist: Google is allowing you to customize a number of resin-based colors for the back and side of the phone via its Website. As a result, you can finally have that green-and-orange smartphone you've always wanted. Motorola has set up a special factory in Fort Worth, Texas, to virtually mass-assemble the custom units so that they can be delivered to customers in four days or less. The company compares it with the way you can customize Nike sneakers.

Motorola plans at some point to offer genuine wooden backing as an option. The log-cabin smartphone has arrived.

Under the hood, there are two special chips that run at low power. They can respond to spoken commands without your touching the phone, even when the display is asleep. From across the room, you can ask Moto X, "How long will it take me to get to work?"

You will hear the answer to your question spoken to you, which is why you can use it from across the room (i.e., there's no need to look at the phone display).

I found the iPhone's Siri a bit better in terms of listening and depth of response, but Google Now, the Android version of Siri, is pretty good.

The coolest feature in my testing was the ability to turn on the camera by twisting your wrist in a screwdriver fashion. The camera leaps into action and you can press anywhere on the screen to shoot a picture. It's truly a wonderfully simple innovation and a great party trick.